Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 1983, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (02): 116-208.

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Comparative studies of the position of the greatest cranial breadth and the cranial heights of the skull of Homo erectus pekinensis

Shao Xiangqing   

  • Online:1983-06-15 Published:1983-06-15

Abstract: In this paper, the cranial vertex height, the position height of the greatest cranial breadth, the position index of the greatest cranial breadth, and the lateral cranial height based upon porion were applied to explain the evolutionary trend of the position of the greatest cranial breadth and of the cranial vertex height.
The figures of these measurements and indices (obtained from casts with the exception of modern specimens ) are as follows:
1.The cranial vertex height:
91 mm in Homo erectus pekinensis. 105一112 mm in Homo Sapiens neanderthalensis, 112-124 mm in Homo Sapiens Sapiens ( fossils ),113.78±0.32 mm in recent man.
2. The position height of the greatest cranial breadth:
8-9 mm in Homo erectus pekinensis, 9-30 mm in Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. 32-58 mm in Homo sapiens sapiens (fossils), 51.50±0.59 mm in recent man.
3. The position index of the greatest cranial breadth (2)/(1) *100:
8.79-9.89 in Homo erectus pekinensis, 8.57-26.79 in Homo Sapiens neanderthalensis, 28.07-46.77 in Homo Sapiens Sapiens (fossils), 45.25±0.50 in recent man.
4. The lateral cranial height based upon the porion:
20-30.5 mm in Homo erectus pekinensis, 60.5-77 mm in Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, 75.5-99 mm in Homo Sapiens sapiens (fossils), 87.56±0.25 mm in recent man.
The foregoing data illustrates that the figures and indices of these measurements increase significantly in the course of human evolution.
The application of Moire method in the study of the position of the greatest cranial breadth is a new technique which is able to show obviously the position of euryon is human evolutionary stages.

Key words: Moire contourography; H. erectus pekinensis; Cranial measurements